


The Calm Before The Storm

by booping_the_snoot



Series: In Another Life [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Gen, Heavy Angst, Major Character Injury, Other, Selective Muteness, Selectively Mute Character, but they actually speak a bit here, idk my betas are asleep, ill look over it later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 23:33:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16438955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booping_the_snoot/pseuds/booping_the_snoot
Summary: “I promise, I’ll help make things better for you, better everyone. Thank you for everything, Dahlia.”And then they were gone.





	The Calm Before The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Yo so like,,, listen to Awaken (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4piBl87TCTKQtsJaWlUBuZ) while reading this bc I did and WOO BOI

Dahlia couldn’t move.

 

_Why couldn't she move?_

 

She could hear a heart monitor, a steady _beep, beep beep,_ being her only reprieve. But she couldn’t move. She couldn’t open her eyes. She couldn’t even twitch.

 

_What’s going on?_

 

She could feel, though. She could feel what she thinks is an IV drip, inserted into her arm. The scratchiness of whatever was covering her. She could feel something going down her throat, and she wanted to scream, wanted to cry, but she couldn’t.

 

She wanted to get up, too look for Mavis. _Where’s Mavis?_ Are they okay?

 

_What happened!?_

 

A door opens. Soft footsteps, before the sound of something settling softly down next to her. Someone speaks up, voice hoarse from unuse.

 

“...Hi, Cotton.”

 

_Mavis?_

 

“...You’re still asleep… Okay. That’s… okay. Y-you were hurt… pretty badly. I…”

 

Dahlia wanted to scream out, to let Mavis know that she’s there, but she couldn’t.

 

“Everyones doing pretty good… a-as good as we can be. Um, Cherry… lost her arm. And-” Mavis’ voice chokes off and they clear their throat before continuing, “her little sister lost her foot. A-a little above the ankle.

 

“Odete managed to find her kid.” Another cough, this one sounding wet. “If you were awake, you’d love the kid…” They laugh again, followed by a sniffle. Are they okay?

 

 _‘Mavis,’_ Dahlia wanted to cry out, _‘I’m here! I’m here!’_

 

She could feel Mavis’ soft hand against her own, thumb rubbing circle against the dorsal of her hand. She wanted to cry, to feel the tears build up and fall and to feel her face grow warm.

 

Mavis proceeded to talk softly about their past week. Anthony going missing, Cherry and Ari’s surgeries, until the contents went from within the week to within the month.

 

_Dahlias’ been out for a month?_

 

As the stories kept building up, she wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh when Mavis did, a soft little thing she didn’t hear often to due Mavis’ usual muteness. Dahlia can’t believe that Mavis is talking so much. Talking for her. Telling her about everything that she’s missed, no matter how seemingly unimportant.

 

She could hear their voice get wetter and wetter, words choking off for often, little hics of breath interrupting Mavis’ rant.

 

Dahlia wanted to hold Mavis’ hands in hers. She wanted to hug them, to kiss them, to let them know that she’s alright. She wanted to let Mavis know how _proud_ she was of them, to let them know that it’s _not your fault, none of this is your fault, you don’t need to cry._

 

Dahlia wants to do a lot of things. Except, she can’t

 

Mavis’ stories began to stop, and they fall silent for all but choked gulps of air.

 

“I miss you.”

 

_‘I miss you too. I miss you too, Mavis, please, I’m awake. I’m awake, I’m awake, I’m awake, I can hear you, please…’_

 

“I miss the way you’d play with my hair… how you’d rant to me about old video games from before this all happened. I miss seeing your blinding smile. I miss your smile. I miss it so much.” They choke out, whispering.

 

“I un-understand if you- if you don’t forgive me.”

 

_‘Mavis, stop, please…’_

 

“I wouldn’t forgive me either. I don’t deserve you. I’ve never deserved your smiles- your limitless kindness…”

 

_‘Mavis, please stop. Please, please stop. I’ve already forgiven you, please, Mavis…’_

 

“I wish I had been enough. Enough to stop everyone from getting hurt, enough to… to save you. _I’m just never enough,_ am I?”

 

_‘Please stop. Don’t be so hard on yourself… I don’t like hearing you like this.’_

 

Their voice wavers, even more, sounding like they're barely holding themself back from just _screaming_ . “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from that man. Cotton, Dahlia, I’m so _so sorry…_ ”

 

_‘Stop stop stop, please stop putting everything on your shoulders-’_

 

“...I guess it’s too late for sorry, huh? You’re… you’re here. Hooked up to-to so many machines. You probably hate me… that’s okay.”

 

_‘No, no it’s not-’_

 

“...I hate me too.”

 

Dahlia wants to cry. She wants to cry so bad. She wants to grab Mavis and pull them into a hug and never let them go, to enforce the fact that Dahlia will never not love Mavis, could never hate Mavis. No mistake they made could change her mind.

 

“I’m gonna-” They choke off again, and another soft hand touches her cheeks, almost caressing. Oh, how Dahlia wishes she could lean into the touch. “I’m gonna make things better.”

 

What?

 

“I’m gonna… I’m gonna…” She can hear them suck in a sharp breath, but this one sounds… different. It sounds angry, and Dahlia can feel the hand on hers clench, the one on her cheek tremble in rage. “I’m gonna make them pay, Dahlia.”

 

No. No. No.

 

“I promise, I won’t- won’t let them get away with this.”

 

_No._

 

“Even if it’s the last thing I do.”

 

Mavis, please, _no._

 

“I… I don’t want to go. I n-never want to leave your side ever again… but…” She can hear the chair scratch back against the floor, and Mavis’ hand leaves hers. “You’re gonna have to check off the last box for me.”

 

_‘Mavis, please. Don’t go. Don’t leave me Mavis, please! I’m here, don’t go, Mavis, Mavis-’_

 

Dahlia can feel a soft pair of lips touch against her forehead, warm and gentle and with a sense of finality. Can feel Mavis' short, curly hair brush against her face as they lean down. Dahlia wants to open her eyes, open her eyes and look into Mavis’ soft purple ones and _beg._ Wants to _scream._

 

“I promise, I’ll help make things better for you, better for everyone. Thank you for everything, Dahlia.”

 

And then they were gone.

**Author's Note:**

> I got this concept from a BNHA fic I was reading


End file.
